Tile topped cocktail table: grout materials and method?

[Gene Davis]

I have done these before and made mistakes. Wanta do it right this time.

Used ordinary sanded tile grout before.

Is epoxy grout the way to go, and a sealer after?

Whaddya do to protect the wood parts adjacent? Just plenty of blue painters tape, and fully finish the wood, first?

[Yonak Hawkins]

Gene, the size of the gap between the tiles should determine whether to use sanded or non-sanded grout. If you can get away with non-sanded, you will have less likelihood of scratching the frame, but the wrong gout could lead to cracks in the cured grout. The only problem with using tape to protect the frame is that it may leave a slight lip at the grout line. What you could do is remove the tape when the grout is pretty firm and brush the edge of the grout (with your sponge) only going toward the middle of the table and away from the frame.

[Shawn Pixley]

I used non sanded grout. At the gap between the wood and the tile, I used a good silicone sealant. The joints were very tight - somewhere just over 1/32".

[Lee Schierer]

I used LATICRETE Clear Epoxy Liquid Grout and powder to do our kitchen back splash. The clean up was with water and a sponge. I don't see why you couldn't use it with a wood frame. You could protect the frame with painters tape and remove it just before the epoxy sets up completely.

I used epoxy grout because it is impervious to stains with out any additional sealing.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, I used non sanded grout on mine, worked great.........Rod.

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[Kevin Bourque]

The joint between the tile and the wood is the most likely spot for cracks due to differing expansion/contraction coefficients of the materials. You might want to use matching color caulk for these joints. Tile stores sell the stuff.

[Chris Padilla]

Urethane or Epoxy grout is what you want. The urethane is easier and some claim better than the epoxy grout...which is a bit harder to work with. Both do not need sealed and will retain their color for a very long time.

To minimize the tile and wood movement, you can do a couple of things. There is a decoupling membrane a lot of the pros use from Schluter Systems called Ditra. It will isolate the tile from the wood moving. Even plywood moves but I suspect you don't need it for such a small area and getting Ditra in small quantities is probably painful. PM me and I can help you there if you want to go that route. I'm doing a tile job on my master bathroom right now and have some leftovers that could work. If you don't want the Ditra, at least put the tile on plywood. Finally, check out John Bridges tile forum...great place for tile advice.

[Lee Schierer]

Couldn't he also use the MusselBound adhesive tile mat, (12-in x 15-ft rolls) to mount the tile and take care of any wood movement? Lowes sells this product. I used it for the tile in our kitchen backsplash and it worked amazingly well and has held up for over8 years so far.